It's 3:30 AM my time and I'm sitting here in pain from these 'blankety-blank' shingles. Pain meds are helping, but this is not a fun experience. I sure hope the Imuran is working, since that's the culprit that brought on this lovely problem. I'm on acyclovir and expectg it will shortern the course of the shingles. But for now...yuk! I know no one is out there at this awful hour, but I just had to vent a little. Sleep well, all of you! Yawwwnnn.

Jody

MARYCAIN

12-16-2006, 09:13 AM

Hey, Jody I was awake just not online - wish I had been - I was watching old movies on TV because I could't sleep either. The boys are all spending the weekend with their grandparents and the house was just too quiet.

I've never had to worry about shingles because I've never had chickenpox, but my middle son had them and he was miserable. Here's a link with some ideas to help relieve some of the symptoms until the anti-virals kick in. We also used aveeno lotion and an OTC product called Sarna to help the itching.
http://alternative-medicine-and-health.com/conditions/shingles.htm

Hope you start feeling better soon - shingles AND pericarditis is enough to try the patience of a saint!